Extensible and tiltable pedestal for use in swimming instruction and water therapy



R. OSWALD AND TILTABLE PEDESTAL FOR USE IN SWIMMING 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 3, 1963 EXTENSIBLE INSTRUCTION AND WATER THERAPY Filed Feb. 2, 1962 IN VEN TOR.

Foes/e7- M- arm/41.0

ATTOEN V Dec. 3, 1963 R. M. OSWALD 3,112,928

EXTENSIBLE AND TILTABLE PEDESTAL FOR USE IN SWIMMING INSTRUCTION AND WATER THERAPY Filed Feb. 2, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. E0552 7- M OJWA z. 0

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Dec. 3, 1963 R. M. OSWALD EXTENSIBLE AND TILTABLE PEDESTAL FOR USE IN SWIMMING INSTRUCTION AND WATER THERAPY 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 2, 1962 INV EN TOR.

0905527- M Own/.440

4 TTOEA/E' VS United States Patent 3,112,928 EXTENSIELE AND TILTABLE PEDESTAL FUR USE TN SWIMMING INSTRUCTION AND WATER THERAPY Robert M. Oswald, Missoula, Mont. (201) Dalebroolr Drive, Alexandria, Va.) Filed Feb. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 170,614 1 (Ilairn. ((Il. 272-71) This invention relates to a novel device for use in caching the various swimming strokes and for water therapy exercises.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a simple, economical, and practical device of the kind indicated, which is adapted to be supported upon the bottom of a shallow body of water, as upon the bottom of a swimming pool, for supporting a person in various positions and movements, partly buoyed up by the water, and at various depths, and with minimum body contact and with minimum obscuration of the person from the view of instructors and students or other observers, including photographers, so that the persons positions and movements are readily observable for purposes of instruction of observers and for the purpose of corrections of the persons positions and movements by verbal instruction and manipulation of the individual.

Another object of the inventionis the provision of a device of the character indicated above which comprises a base, an upstanding vertically adjustable pedestal, a

racket which is mounted on the upper end of the pedestal for rotary adjustment on the axis of the pedestal and for angular adjustment relative to the axis of the pedestal, and a platform mounted on the bracket, whereby the person can be supported at selected depths in the water and at selected angles relative to the surface thereof.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device of the character indicated above, wherein the platform is relatively narrow and relatively long, the width of the platform being no wider than is necessary to engage and effectively support the body of the person, at an intermediate point, the platform being adapted to be positioned transversely for this purpose, and being adapted to be longitudinally disposed for greater supporting contact with the body of the person, as in a prone position thereof.

Other important objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein, for purpose of illustration only, a specific form of the invention is set forth in detail.

in the drawings:

FTGURE l is a side elevation of a device of the present invention, showing the bracket angled relative to the pedestal and transversely disposed;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view, partially broken away, of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view, showing the platform separated from the bracket, and the pedestal base set in a socket in a swimming pool bottom, instead of the base of FIGURES 1 to 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, contracted, and fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4;

FTGURE 6 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly broken away and in section, showing the platform secured upon the bracket and disposed in a horizontal position, in full lines, and in an angled position in phantom lines;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side elevation showing a seat-type platform installed on the bracket of the device;

FIGURE 8 is a schematic side elevation, showing a 3*,ll2fi28 Patented Dec. 3, 1963 person supported in a body of water by the device, with the platform disposed for minimum contact with the persons body with the persons body in the side, prone or supine position, to allow for maximum freedom of movement of arms and legs;

FIGURE 9 is a view like FIGURE 8, showing the platform disposed for maximum body contact in a prone and supine position; and

FlGURE 10 is a view like FIGURE 9, showing the platform disposed to support the hips and upper trunk, allowing freedom of leg and arm movement and disposed to support the legs and hips, allowing freedom of upper trunk and arm movement.

Referring in detail to the drawings, wherein like and related numerals designate like and related parts throughout the several views, and first to FIGURES 1 through 3. The device therein shown and generally designated 12, comprises a base 14 which comprises a rectangular plate 16 to the underside of which parallel intermediate connective portions 18 of surface engaging legs 20 are secured, as by welds 22, along opposite side edges of the plate 16. The legs 28 extend in laterally spaced divergent pairs from opposite ends of the plate 16 and are downwardly and longitudinally outward angled relative to the plate, and have non-slip caps 24 on their ends for engaging a supporting surface S.

A centered perpendicular tubular pedestal 26 comprises a tube 2% which is suitably fixed, at its lower end, upon the plate 16, as indicated at 39, and has an open upper end 32, through which a preferably tubular post 34 slides. A lateral tubular boss 36, located near the upper end of the tube 23 has a threaded bore 38 extending through the side wall of the tube 28, in which a locking or set screw 4% is engaged, for locking the post 34- in selected vertical adjustments relative to the tube. The screw 49 is provided, at its outer end, with an operating lever handle 42.

Fixed on the upper end of the post 34 is an upstanding bracket 44 which comprises a pair of spaced flat quadrant sector plates 46, having horizontal upper edges 48, and arcuate edges 59 which extend beyond one side of the post.

The bracket 44 further comprises another sector plate 58, disposed between the quadrant plates 46 and having an apex 6i) traversed by the pivot bolt 56, and provided with concave indentations 62 along its arcuate edge as, for selective reception of the end of a wing bolt set screw 54. The sector plate 58 has obtuseiy angled end edges 66 and 6%, in contrast to the right-angularly related end edges of the quadrant sector plates. Suitably and centrally fixed upon the normally horizontal edge 66 of the sector plate 58 is a flat preferably rectangular bracket plate 70, upon which a body supporting platform '72 is securable. The wing bolt set screw 54 is, as shown in FTGURE 3, threaded through one of the quadrant plates 46 to selectively engage in any one of the circumferential indentations 62, provided in one side of the sector plate 53.

The platform '72 is a generally fiat, elongated, and relatively narrow rectangular plate '74. The plate 74-, as indicated in FIGURE 8, is no wider than necessary to have supportive contact with the trunk or the hips of a persons body, at the center of balance thereof. The plate 74 is, in one case, long enough, as shown in FIG- URE 9 to provide head-to-foot supportive body contact support, or only long enough, as shown in FIGURE 10, to support supportive contact either for the torso and the legs, leaving the arms free and unsupported, or for the torso, leaving the legs free and unsupported.

As shown in FIGURES 4 and 6, the platform plate 74 is provided, along its side edges, with rows of spaced,

threaded bolt holes 76, which are provided for the selective reception of bolts 78, which have wing nuts 80 threaded on their outer ends, and hubs 82 which are disposed between the wing nuts and the plate 74 and turn freely on the bolts. The hubs 82 have lateral clamping lugs 84 thereon. As indicated in FIGURE 6, the platform 72 is adapted to be clamped, in selected positions, upon the bracket plate 70, by engaging the lugs 84 beneath the plate 70, at the ends of the plate 70, and then running the Wing nuts 80 up against the hubs 82.

The devices of FIGURES 1 to 3 and 4 and 5 are the same in construction except that the base 14a of FIG- URES 4 and 5 comprises a socket 86 set in a concrete or other material, swimming pool bottom B, with a top fiange 88 flush with the surface of the bottom B, and with the lower end of the tube 28a of the pedestal 26a seated in the socket.

The device shown in FIGURE 7, and generally designated 12b is similar in construction to the above described devices, except that the platform 72b is in the form of a seat having a normally horizontal seat plate 96, and a right-angular upstanding seat back plate 92, on one end of the seat plate. The seat plate 90 carries the clamping bolts 83-1), with the lugs 84b, and wing nuts 82b thereon.

In use and operation, as shown in FIGURE 8, for instruction in swimming or water therapy exercise, with the subject in a prone position, face-down or one side down in a supine position, or face up with the arms and legs left free and unsupported, except by the water W, the platform 72 is positioned transversely in a horizontal plane, and the subject supportably contacted only in the region of the hips or Waist, by the relatively narrow width of the platform.

In FIGURE 9, the platform is positioned longitudinally so as to provide substantially full length supportive contact with the body of the subject, including the legs and the head, with the subject in prone or supine position in either a horizontal or an angled position.

In FIGURE 10, a shorter than normal platform is used to support the subject in prone positions, this platform being only long enough to have supportive contact with the subjects torso while leaving the legs free, as in the left-hand part of FIGURE or with the midseetion of the torso and the legs and leaving the upper torso and the arms free, as in the right-hand part of FIGURE 10. It is to be noted, as shown in the left-hand part of FIGURE 10, the narrowness of the platform enables the subjects arms to be exercised at opposite sides of the platform, while the subjects torso is freely supported and the legs free.

Although there have been shown and described preferred forms of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily confined thereto, and that any change or changes in the structure of and in the relative arrangements of components thereof are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention as defined by the claim appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

A swimming instruction and water comprising:

(a) a support;

(12) an upstanding pedestal secured to the support and including a tube and a tubular post, having a free upper end, telescoped in the tube;

(c) means for releasably locking the tube and the post relative to one another for adjustment of the pedestal height;

(d) a bracket fixedly secured to the upper end of the post, the bracket including a pair of spaced-apart quadrant plates fixed to said upper end of said post;

(e) each quadrant plate including a substantially horizontal edge and a second edge angularly-related to the horizontal edge, the respective edges of said quadrant plates being transversely-aligned;

(f) at least one of the quadrant plates having at least one threaded aperture therein; a (g) a sector plate interposed between the quadrant plates and having two singularly-related edges;

therapy device,

(/1) pivot means securing the sector plate between the quadrant plates for an adjustment range between one extreme wherein one of said edges of the sector plate is transversely-aligned with the horizontal edges of the quadrant plates and another extreme wherein the other of said edges is transversely-aligned with the angularly-related edges;

(1') the sector plate having a plurality of indentations therein adapted for alignment with the aperture;

(1') means extending through the aperture and engaging a selected one of the indentations to releasably lock the sector plate in selected relation to the quadrant plates;

(k) a bracket plate secured to the edge of the sector plate alignable with the horizontal edges of the quadrant plates;

(1) a body-supporting platform, including an underside; and

(m) means including L-shaped lugs releasably clamping the platform at its underside to the bracket plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 577,202 Palmer Feb. 16, 1897 1,261,611 Polyak Apr. 2, 1918 1,433,142 Maurer Oct. 24, 1922 1,707,505 Bishop Apr. 2, 1929 2,567,593 Bemis Sept. 11, 1951 2,634,542 Bode Apr. 14, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 554,756 Germany June 23, 1932 

